Deer road accidents

The campaign, which started on 20 April, was launched by Transport Scotland and the Deer Commission for Scotland to coincide with the busiest time of year for collisions between the animals and vehicles. There are around 10,000 such accidents a year, with an average of two to three human fatalities.

Jamie Hammond, a deer officer for the Deer Commission for Scotland (DCS) said, “Juvenile roe deer are a higher risk on the roads at this time of year, as their mothers are about to give birth, leaving one-year-olds to find their own way for the first time. This leaves the younger roe in search of territories of their own and can often lead to them wandering across roads.

“We often find that people who live in and around towns think these warnings aren’t relevant to them, but in fact accident rates are often higher in areas with more people and more cars on the road. Accidents certainly don’t only occur on rural roads in the Highlands. We urge drivers to be on the lookout for deer on the sides of roads or emerging from bushes or trees on road-sides. If you’re driving by wooded areas or areas where you’ve seen deer before, slow down.”

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